


A Boy And His Android

by berryblonde



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Android Gavin Reed, Dad Hank, Fluff, Human Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Human Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn, This will be so fluffy you have no idea, basically this is a very happy au, cole is alive, in between, reverse au, save for the few bits of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-02-27 22:10:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18748099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berryblonde/pseuds/berryblonde
Summary: Connor is seven when he first meets the android most simply call GR200.And as he grows up and changes, so does the rough-around-the-edges android, and their relationship as well.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello it is I. I have no excuse for starting another multi-chapter. None. Zero. I blame [Dim](https://deep-in-mind67.tumblr.com) as he supplied me with most of these ideas. This was supposed to be short. The outline itself (which is all bullet points, mind you) is 3k words.  
> Maybe I really do need a break from angst though, haha. Hope you guys enjoy! And don't forget to check ot Dim's art, it's incredible! His blog is linked up there.
> 
> EDIT: Just so you know, the years will be shifted around a bit to make it all fit, so events that originally take place in 2038 will take place later.
> 
> //used to be unacceptable_bisexual//

**January 7 th, 2032**

 

The precinct seems huge in comparison to his own, tiny frame. Everyone shoots him smiles and friendly glances and Connor can’t help but giggle, small hand wrapping around his father’s fingers tighter.

They won’t be here long, his dad just really needs to fetch something, he said, and of course, Connor had wanted to go with him to finally see the precinct. Even at seven years old he was already sure that he wanted to be a police officer just like his father when he grew up, always forcing his brother to take on the role of the robber or various other criminals so he could pretend to arrest him.

There had even been the time he had snuck into his parents’ room and tried to put on Hank’s old police officer uniform, but had ultimately failed bc of the huge size difference.

Hank had had a field day with it all, though, taking picture after picture of Connor in the huge police jacket and the hat, laughing as the boy basically got lost in the article of clothing.

So naturally, when Hank had said he’d be going out to get some papers from the precinct Connor had jumped on the chance to accompany him now that he’s finally deemed old enough by both Hank and Isabelle, the latter staying behind with Niles and Cole.

It makes Connor feel special too, that _he_ is the one getting to see where his dad works. Especially if he ignores the fact that Cole is two years old and wouldn’t comprehend anything anyways, and that Niles doesn’t show any interest in police work whatsoever, only agreeing to be part of Connor’s little make-belief plays when the older twin promises him part of his dessert of the day.

Not that he minds. Being able to pretend that he is actually a police officer and not just a kid with a very small social circle (namely, his brothers, if Cole could even be counted, and his parents) was worth sharing his ice cream with Niles.

Right now, Connor is simply jumping with excitement, energy buzzing through him as he tries to take in and remember every single little detail of the waiting area.

The receptionist gives him a friendly smile and he tries his best to smile back, his free hand fidgeting with his shirt and twitching around.

He doesn’t know why his hands always do that when he’s happy or nervous, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen it on any of the kids at school — but Hank says it’s okay, that that’s just how he expresses his happiness and that there’s nothing wrong with it, so it must be right.

Because in his eyes, his dad can never be wrong, is basically his own, personal, real life hero. Who else has a dad that’s heroic like his, who keeps Detroit’s street safe and catches the meanest of the mean people? No one, that’s who. At least in Connor’s mind, and he giggles with elation, shifting his weight from one foot to another as Hank exchanges a few quick words with the nice receptionist.

Her voice sounds really nice, Connor things, and the way she says “folder” is great, and so he repeats it over and over again, mumbling to himself. When she notices, she smiles at him, and Connor grins back, all tooth-gapped and happy.

They seem to be done chatting soon enough and Connor follows Hank into the actual bullpen, hand still safely tucked away in his father’s.

His eyes widen when they leave the waiting area and step into where the Detectives actually work, and Connor has to resist the urge to run around and look at every single little thing. There’s desks! They’re so much taller than the ones at his school, and he knows if he stood next to them, he’d barely be able to see on top.

He’s still a bit short for his age, definitely shorter than Niles, but he pretends it doesn’t bother him.

There’s Officers and Detectives all over the precinct, some greeting Hank with a friendly nod or wave, and some deeply concentrated on their work.

How great would it be if he could just walk up to them and ask them questions! But Hank had made him promised not to bother the other people working there too much, or he wouldn’t take the boy with him.

He seemed to know Connor all too well and Connor had pouted for a whole minute until Hank had started the car and started driving and the giddy excitement that still filled him had taken over.

So he dutifully follows his father to his desk, mouth gaping open and fingers dancing in the air, trying to find and memorize all the little details: How exactly the uniforms look, how many desks there are, what’s on each desk.

It’s fun to try and imagine which desk and name might belong to which Officer, Connor thinks as Hank sits him down on the chair, little legs dangling in the air, swinging back and forth and his starts chewing on his sleeve and looks around the bullpen in concentration.

He can read fine, he even loves reading, and he feels the need to prove it to his dad again by reading out the names of various Officers and Detectives.

Hank simply laughs at his son’s antics and Connor smiles at him proudly after reading out another name. It takes his father another minute to get done rummaging through his cluttered desk (really, the desk looks just like his parents’ bedroom, Hank’s side at least: very messy and full of little stickers, tickets to hockey games and pictures of their family).

“Alright, son, will you wait here for me for a few minutes? I need to talk to Jeffrey.” He points towards the glass box on the other side of the bullpen with his thumb and Connor nods enthusiastically. After all, he’s seven already. Practically grown up. He can handle waiting here alone for a few minutes, maybe even sneak off and talk to one of the Officers.

“Alright. But you better be right here when I come back.” Hank wags his finger at him before he turns around and leaves, and Connor wants nothing more than to jump up and ask the people he thinks might be Detective McCarthy or Officer Collins a million of questions when he notices a bunch of people standing extremely still on one side of the bullpen.

They’re all wearing the same uniform with a glowing blue triangle on their chest, an armband it the same color around their arm and a combination of letters and numbers on their uniform instead of names.

Now that he noticed that, he remembers that the friendly receptionist wore one of those triangles too.

What had his father called them when they had walked past a shop full of people like them one day? No, not people, he remembers. They’re robots, _androids_ his dad had said.

Connor continues to stare at them curiously. A lot of them seem to have the same face, he notices, and he gets a bit sad for them. They might not be human, but isn’t it a bit unfair that they don’t get their own face? He knows he’s not too fond of the fact that he and Niles look practically identical, save for their eye color.

His curiosity gets the better of him and he gets up, waddles over to where the androids are standing in line, one sleeve still caught between his teeth and the other hand nervously flapping.

Something about them is so interesting yet unnerving that he can’t help but want to know more. Does their skin feel like human skin? Why do they sleep standing up? Do they eat? What’s their favorite food? _Do_ they even have a favorite food?

He stands in front of them, inspects them. There’s an overwhelming desire to just _poke_ one of them, especially the one in front of him. The android has the appearance of a man a lot younger than his dad, with tanned skin and a stubble that looks just like his dad’s after his mother made her husband shave off his beard for her sister’s wedding last year.

Carefully he looks around to see if anyone has noticed him leaving Hank’s desk. His father is still talking to what he thinks must be the chief, and no one really seems to pay him any mind.

Gathering all of his determination he reaches out slowly, wanting to find out what would happen if he just tugged at the android’s sleeve.

Just as his little fingers are about to touch it, its eyes snap open and Connor stumbles back, falling onto his behind.

The little diode on its temple cycles red.

And if there’s one thing Connor knows, it’s that red means absolutely no-good danger.

The android’s eyes are gray and lifeless and scary and its brows are furrowed as it looks town onto Connor who feels tinier than he has ever felt. The android looks as if Connor had just disturbed it doing something very important, and his little heart is pounding in his chest.

Would the android hurt him? The vacuum always did with its loud noise, and he remembers the stove, which is also an electrical thing like the android, is dangerous too.

The android keeps glaring at him, and so Connor does the only thing he can think of: He starts crying, loudly.

Immediately, multiple heads turn towards him as he continues to sit there and bawl his eyes out, hoping that the android in front of him wouldn’t hurt him.

The machine stays silent, doesn’t even blink.

It only takes a few seconds until one of the people in the bullpen, a woman with ginger hair, rushes over and stands next to Connor, looking the android directly in the eye.

“GR200, enter stasis,” she says with a firm voice. Connor wants to yell at her to be careful, but all he can do is sob and blubber, rocking his upper body back and forth.

Whatever her words meant, something happens: the android moves a step back and closes its eyes, the little red light on his temple spinning for another second before turning gray.

Relief floods him as the woman bends down to him.

“Are you okay?” She asks softly and he looks up, fixates her ear and the nice earring she wears. Looking people in the eyes is the worst, and he thinks after seeing that android’s eyes, he never wants to do it ever again.

“Yeah,” he responds shakily.

“You’re Hank’s son, right?”

“I am. My name is Connor.” He says it proudly and with a hint of a smile making its way back onto his face as he raises his sleeve and wipes away his tears.

“I’m seven already!”

“Wow, so you’re a really big boy, is that why your dad took you with him here today?”

“Yes!”

“But I think it’s time to go and find him, huh?”

Connor only nods, not wanting to admit that he desperately wants to go to his dad and hug him. His father always makes him feel safe, and he definitely needs them right now.

He grips the woman's hand tightly as he gets up and lets her lead him towards the glass box, the commotion outside seemingly having gone unnoticed to the two men inside.

Connor turns around one last time to check on the android, to make sure it's really turned off and won’t suddenly come back to life again.

To his relief, the light on its temple is gray and its eyes are closed shut, the robot’s frame standing still in its weird little box as the woman knocks on the glass box’s door.

She says something Connor can’t quite make out to Hank and their boss and when Hank comes out to find Connor’s face all puffy and wet from crying he kneels down all worriedly and takes his son into a tight hug, apologizing for leaving him alone outside before moving on to chastise him for not staying where he was supposed to sit.

Connor promises to not wander off ever again and Hank quickly wraps up his discussion with the other man to take Connor home.

On the whole drive Connor can’t help but think about the android.

 _Why would the police have something so scary?,_ He wonders, his little head leaning against the cool window of the car.

Moments later, he’s fast asleep, dreaming of red lights and electric sheep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? consistently working on one project? Never.   
> Also, since i only added it later last time: the dates when cetrain things happen will be a bit different from canon, so asdjasd pls don't be confused  
> That is all !

**July 24** **th** **, 2032**

The weather is warm, about 90°F, according to the thermostat Connor checked before they left. It’s the warmest it has been all year and warm weather means primarily one thing: shorts and his favorite suspenders.

He knows his father hates the temperatures, will grumble and complain until mom reminds him that he does the same in winter.

Maybe Hank just hates the weather in general, no matter the temperature. It’s always too warm or cold or wet or dry for him, and Connor thinks maybe hating it is an adult thing, because he doesn’t get it.

Even the almost suffocating heat in the car has its nice sides, namely that the weather outside will feel much cooler once they step out of it.

Their destination? The DPD. It’s been more than half a year since Connor has been here, and he’s not sure whether he’s excited or not.

Technically, it’s not even really his own choice to be here, no matter how excited he was to visit last time. The android gave him a huge scare, and even if Connor, a brave, almost-eight-so-it-totally-counts-as-eight-year-old, would never admit it out loud, the thing had absolutely terrified him.

At home, he had told a story of bravery, of him defying the machine and telling it to back away, all without shedding a tear and in a very firm manner.

Hank hadn’t corrected him, so he had figured his father didn’t mind him twisting reality a bit in this case.

And today, Hank had told him, he needed to submit some paperwork real quick before he got in trouble, and if Connor would be okay with going to the precinct after the dentist’s appointment. They had already dropped off Niles at a friends’, and Connor, well. Connor hadn’t wanted to admit to being scared.

He knows Hank is hesitant to take him there as well after what had happened, but apparently he really needs to get the work done. Connor knows his father is as bad with meeting deadlines as he can be when a subject doesn’t interest him, so he understands.

His dad had even promised him ice cream afterwards if he stays put at the desk this time and assured him that it would be quick, and it hadn’t taken much convincing after that.

After all, Connor is still dead set on becoming a police officer, so he needs to get over his fear of the android, right? Just like mommy always says when he claims the vacuum is hurting his ears, he needs to find a way to deal with it that works for him, because he wouldn’t be able to avoid androids like that forever.

Are all police androids that scary? Maybe.

Hank had said they weren’t, that the model was a bit faulty but it usually did what it was supposed to and the DPD couldn’t afford to replace it.

His nose is pressed against the window as he watches the buildings pass by, trying to figure out how far away they were from the DPD.

Two more minutes? Maybe. His heartbeat picks up pace, and Connor can feel his palms get sweaty from nervousness.

Will the android look at him like that again? Will his little LED red like last time? His dad had explained the possible colors of an android LED to him — blue means everything is alright, yellow means they are processing something, or that things aren’t as great. And as Connor had suspected, red definitely means no good. Red means an android is stressed or something is broken.

Apparently, android parts are called biocomponents.

After learning the word for it, Connor had repeated it for half a day because he had loved the sound of it, much to his brother’s annoyance who had at some point thrown a stuffed animal at him.

Connor had laughed and continued to repeat until it hadn’t been fun anymore.

The car slowly comes to a halt in the DPD parking lot and suddenly he isn’t so sure about going inside anymore. What if the android does more than look scary this time? What if it’s broken enough to really hurt him, and the nice lady from last time can’t intervene?

Hank had told him that the android’s LED seems to be stuck on red, and Connor doesn’t want to find out why or what the android would do.

As soon as he gets out he grabs Hank’s sleeve and holds it tightly, clinging to it as if his life depends on it, almost hiding behind him as he follows him inside.

The receptionist is the same as last time, and her LED is blue. She’s an android too, he remembers, but she’s not scary. She seems very nice, and Connor thinks he likes her. He even greets back when she waves hello at him and Hank, and he tries to put on his best smile.

Forcing a smile is always difficult for him, it makes his face feel all weird and wrong so he usually doesn’t do it, but he thinks she deserves a smile after greeting him so nicely.

Connor follows Hank to the same desk as last time and is lifted up, giggling as Hank sits him down on the white surface.

“You stay here this time,” Hank grumbles and turns on his terminal. “But Jeffrey’s gonna have my a— a— gonna be very unhappy if I don’t submit this today.” Connor can’t help but giggle at his dad suppressing a swear, something he does very often.

He and Niles probably know more swear words than is good for two seven-year-old boys, and Cole will follow suite. But their mom isn’t too happy about Hank swearing around the children and she always tells him off for it, so Hank at least tries not to.

Keyword is  _ tries _ . He doesn’t succeed most of the time, or only catches himself late. Which, to Connor, is always very funny.

His legs dangle off the desk as he keeps nervously checking back to where the android is standing, still as ever and with a gray LED. Gray means it’s turned off, so Connor has nothing to worry about, he thinks. Gray is just as good as blue, even better.

None of the other androids look as scary as that one had, even if another one shares his appearance.

Next to him Hank is typing away and filling out a form, doing paperwork. Connor doesn’t like the idea of having to do paperwork as a Detective later, but Hank always says it’s part of the job.

Sometimes Connor thinks he’s saying it to scare off the boy from wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, but Connor refuses to let himself be deterred.

Instead, he looks around the precinct, waves at a few friendly-looking faces, and smiles especially brightly at the ginger-haired woman that helped him last time. She greets him in passing and asks how he’s doing and he responds with a big grin, telling him he got almost all A’s in his report card for the year.

He’s proud of it, especially since he’s done better than Niles, and Hank next to him chuckles when he tells the woman, Connor’s little fingers dancing in excitement.

And then she leaves and he returns to watching the others come and go, and once again, he makes a game of it, trying to imagine what kind of cases they’re working on.

A robbery? A kitten in a tree? Or is that a job for the fire fighters? Connor doesn’t really care, and is about to ask his father how many kittens he has already saved from trees when Hank stands up.

“I’m really sorry, son, but I need to use the bathroom for a minute. Will you be alright?”

Connor’s eyes go big and he stares at Hank. Does his father really want to leave him alone here after what happened last time? But Connor is almost eight, so he needs to be brave, he decides and he nods.

“Of course!” He says, and he hopes his voice didn’t tremble.

Hank watches him for another moment before nodded his head as well. “Be right back.”

Connor watches him go, and suddenly, he feels watched. Too scared to look back at the android he looks down onto his shoes. Maybe he can count the little spreckels of dirt that he had gotten onto them until Hank returns, he thinks, and so he does.

One, two three. He reaches twenty-four when he notices a shadow looming over him, and he looks up.

In front of him stands the scary android from last time, the same gray eyes are staring at him and its LED is red.

Connor gulps.

One of the android’s arms is behind its back, and for a brief moment Connor wonders if the android has something to hurt him with.

But then the android, GR200 is written on its chest, he notices, brings its arm and hand to the front to reveal a little blue origami bird.

Connor has tried origami before, but he’s never been good at it. The little bird appears to be folded with precision and the android continues to hold it out towards him.

He looks up at the machine with big, curious eyes.

“Take it,” it grumbles, and Connor is surprised to find that he thinks the voice fits its rough appearance. Still a bit wary he stretches out his hand and grabs the little bird with two fingers, inspects it.

“Did you make it?” He asks quietly, still unsure whether he should really be speaking with the android. Did no one notice it isn’t where it’s supposed to be?

“Yes,” it replies, and Connor watches his LED cycle round and round.

“Why?”

“Does it matter?”

He decides to be brave. “To me it does! If you don't tell me, you can have it back.”

The android sighs and shakes its head. “I scared you a whole of a fucking lot last time, didn’t I? Most people want an apology for that.” Connor can’t help but giggle at hearing the android swear, seemingly not caring that it’s saying bad words in front of a child.

He straightens his back and looks the android in the face, fixating his nose. “Then I accept your apology,” he responds, hoping to sound grown up.

Maybe the android isn’t as scary as he thought. Nothing that makes such cute origami birds can be truly terrifying. He giggles again and then, before he can say or do anything else, he hears steps approaching.

“GR200, what the hell are ya doing here? Go back to your charging station,” Connor’s dad bellows, and Connor would be lying if he said he wasn’t the smallest bit disappointed.

The android grumbles a “yeah, whatever”, and Connor thinks that’s pretty funny coming from a machine that’s supposed to obey humans. Maybe it’s more human than he originally thought.

He smiles at the thought.

“But daaaaad,” he whines when the android leaves and Hank sits down. “I was making a friend!”

“A friend?” Hank raises and eyebrow. “Weren’t you scared shitl— weren’t you scared of it?”

“Yes, but look!” He holds out his hand with the tiny origami bird the same colour as an android’s blue LED would be from what Connor has seen.

“It gave me that!”

Hank inspects the bird for a few seconds before smiling.

“I didn’t think it could do that, woah. Guess you learn something new every day.”

“Of course you do, dad! There’s always something to learn!”

“Of course, son.” Hank smiles at him and Connor grins back, before his eyes wander to the bird in his hand and then to where the android is standing.

Its LED isn’t visible from the angle Connor is looking at it, but its eyes are closed. A little bit disappointed, Connor is about to let his gaze drift away again when the android opens one eye and grins at him, and all he can do is giggle and smile and wave back.

Maybe he finally really made a friend, even if he was originally terrified of it. Him. He shouldn’t call a friend it, he decides, even if his friend isn’t technically human.

But a lot of the characters in his favorite TV shows aren’t really human either, they’re bunnies and dinosaurs and even little robots. So he can absolutely consider the android his friend, and he likes that thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I come with another chapter  
> a bit longer this time! even though i expected it to be shorter sadhjasd oh well. hope you guys enjoy!

**August 18** **th** **, 2032**

In the life of every newly 8-year-old comes the day where you have been wanting something so bad that you’ve been begging for days, maybe even months. And then finally, you get it.

For Connor, the day comes shortly after his 8 th birthday, when he’s sitting on the couch with his baby brother on his lap, early-morning cartoons playing in the background as his brother claps excitedly and Connor finally manages to sway his dad’s opinion to give him what he wants:

Allowing Connor to come to the precinct with him again. He’s been begging for who knows how long now, trying to find the most logical (and some very illogical) arguments to get what he wants.

Just when Connor is about to give up for the day and focus on the TV, Hank sighs.

“Fine. But if your mom gets mad, this is entirely on you, got it?” Hank shakes his head in exasperation, knowing that, of course, it won’t be on Connor. He’ll be the one his wife will be mad at for taking the young boy there again, even though Connor told her multiple times that the bad android isn’t actually bad but his friend now.

Plus, a police station is probably not the safest environment for a kid, but Hank vows to do his best to not let Connor get swept up in any dangerous situation. Which means, paperwork for the day.

He sighs again and Connor removes Cole from his lap, little hands frantically moving as soon as they’re free. There’s more than a bit excitement bubbling inside of him and he races to his and Niles’ bedroom to get out of his pyjamas and into some regular clothes.

While he rummages through the closet he ignores a still half-asleep Niles as he grumbles and pleads for Connor to be more quiet, rushing out as soon as he finds something.

There’s little he cares about less right now than his sleepy-head of a brother, and how could he not? He’s about to see his friend again! The only friend he’s ever made without Niles’ help, the only friend that’s not his brother or really, more a friend of Niles’ than his.

His dad is standing in the doorway ready and dressed, and Connor can hear rummaging from the kitchen, meaning that his mother must be awake now too.

“Bye, mom!” he shouts as he practically sprints out of the door and to the car, giggling the whole time. Connor pulls at the handle of the still-locked car door a few times, frustrated when it won’t open, and he decides to pout until Hank catches up with him.

The man shakes his head and opens the car so Connor can jump into the back.

When the car starts, Connor is just a mess of dancing fingers and laughs and excitement, and at some point Hank turns up the radio to keep the boy from babbling as much nonsense as he does.

They arrive, and he practically jumps out of the car and Hank has to hold him back from sprinting inside.

“Slow down, son,” he says, locking the car and watching as Connor steps from one foot to another. The boy groans when Hank doesn’t get moving, already anticipating the lecture that’s sure to follow.

“You’ll do as I say, got it? In the end, that’s still a precinct, and not a playground. So no running off, you stay where I can see you, alright? And let the Officers do their work.”

Connor nods impatiently, barely having listened to what Hank said.

“Can we go inside now?” He asks, just short of jumping up and down.

Hank sighs again. “Fine.”

By now, Connor knows the way and he greets the receptionist on the way in, smiling brightly as she greets back. Hank’s desk is, obviously, in the same position as it was last time and he climbs on top of it without being lifted up (he’s a big boy now, after all. Eight is a lot older than seven in his mind).

With eager eyes he looks around the precinct and waves towards one Detective or Officer after another, trying to spot the android he’s been dying to talk to again when it hits him:

What would he even talk about with the other? Would GR200 even want to talk to him? Sure he would — he gifted him that bird, after all. Which Connor still keeps on his desk as his most prized possession, even if Niles makes fun of him for it. His brother just  _ doesn’t understand _ .

Should he just talk about his favorite shows? About School? Would the android care about that? Would he think Connor is dumb?

His excitement turns to nervousness, his palms are sweaty and he’s close to telling Hank that he’s changed his mind and wants to go home when he spots the android coming in with an Officer and heading straight towards where he had been standing the last times too.

Connor turns around and tugs Hank’s sleeve. “Daaaaad?”

“Yes?” Hank doesn’t even look up from his terminal.

“Can I go talk to the android? Please, please, please!”

“The thing’s back?” He turns around and spots the GR200, then returns his attention to Connor, hesitating for a moment before exhaling deeply and shaking his head.

“Fine,” he relents, and Connor immediately jumps off the desk. “But if anything happens, no matter how small, you get back here!” He calls after his son.

“Of course!” Connor shouts back without turning around.

The android’s LED is gray when Connor almost runs into him, coming to a halt mere centimetres in front of him. He barely reaches the other’s hip, but he’s fine with that. One day he’ll grow and then he’ll be just as tall (or maybe even taller, he thinks) than the android.

But there’s still the question of what to say to the other.

Surely an android doesn’t care for Connor’s elementary school projects, or his favorite cartoon shows. If he blabbers about that, the GR200 will surely think he’s stupid. What else could he talk about though? He’s still contemplating when he accidentally steps too close to the android and he open his eyes.

His LED cycles red a couple of time as searches the room before his gaze lands on Connor.

“Oh, it’s you,” he grins. “Did Hank leave you along again? Prick.”

Connor frantically shakes his head. “No!” His father was a responsible dad. The best dad.

“Whatcha doing here then?”

“I — I wanted to talk to you! You’re my friend, after all!”

GR200’s eyes widen in surprise, and Connor is proud of himself for catching it.

“I am?”

“Yup!”

The android shakes his head and lets out a laugh.

“Alright then, friend, what do you want to talk about then?”

“Uh…” Connor feels himself blanking, unable to get any words out. Until…

“Did you know,” he begins in his most serious, grown-up voice. “That a bolt of lightning has enough energy to toast about 200,000 slices of bread?”

A moment of silence follows before GR200 throws his head back in laughter. It sounds mechanical and like it’s not the intended purpose of his vocal chords (do androids have vocal chords?, Connor wonders, but decides it’s not important) but eh can’t help but feel pride at making the other laugh.

“Nope, I didn’t fucking know that, kid. Where the hell did you get that from?”

He thinks for a moment. “I read it online!”

“You read it, hm.”

“Yes! And I know much more stuff!”

“I can imagine.”

“Do you want to know?”

GR200 looks around, seems to scan his surrounding before shrugging.

“Sure, kid. ‘s not like I have work to do right now anyways. Go on, entertain me.”

“Some species of moths don’t have mouths!”

“Wait, and how do they eat then?” GR200 asks, confused.

“Uh…”

“You don’t fucking know, do you?”

Connor looks away, bashfully. GR200 laughs.

“Wait, I’ll google it.”

“You can just do that?” Connor’s eyes widen. “Do you have a phone?”

“Nope.”

“Then how —”

He taps his fingers against his temple, where his LED is still cycling red and Connor stares at him in awe. “It’s all in there,” he explains.

“You have google in your head?”

“I guess you could say that,” GR200 shrugs and Connor sits down next to him, eagerly awaiting his answer.

“So, it seems that moths who are born without mouths make up for it in the caterpillar stage. They just eat a fuck-ton of shit then.”

“They eat shit?” Connor scrunches his nose up in disgust and GR200 stares at him in bewilderment for a few seconds before he laughs.

“No, they just — eat stuff. I meant shit as an stuff.”

Connor nods, listening intently. He likes that the android has no qualms about swearing in his presence, it makes him feel really grown up.

When he says that, GR200 just chuckles. “Hank’s your dad,” he says. “I’m sure you know every fucking swear word under the sun by now.”

Connor thinks he might, but Hank still always tries to hold back because otherwise Isabelle will get mad at him.

“Did you know that snail hearts are located in their heads?”

“Their brains too?”

“I think so,” Connor muses, squinting as he thinks. It’s nice that GR200 actually listens to him, that he doesn’t brush him off like the people at school do. And not only that, the android also researches additional information whenever Connor isn’t sure about something, or sometimes he just quietly sits there with him and lets Connor babble.

“It’s unfair to say that the titanic sank because the iceberg was "too big". rather, steel, iron, and many other metals become brittle when introduced to colder temperatures. The titanic very well could have sustained a hit of that sort, had it been under standard temperature and pressure.”

GR200 snorts. “You sound like a fucking textbook. How do you even know about the titanic? Aren’t you like, five?”

Connor huffs and pouts. “I’m eight! And my mom loves the movie, even if it’s old, she always cries when she watches it!”

“So you decided to look up weird shit about the boat.”

“It’s not weird, it’s interesting!”

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” he laughs as Connor continues to pout. “Did ya know that in the movie, Jack could’ve easily fit onto that door too?”

“I know, right! I always say that to my mom but she insists that it’s more dramatic that way!”

GR200 shakes his head. “Humans,” he scoffs and Connor isn’t sure whether he’s a bit hurt by it. He’s human too, after all. But GR200 is talking to him, so he can’t be that bad, now can he?

The rest of the morning continues in similar fashion and Connor occasionally catches glimpses of Hank at his desk, the man even comes over to check on Connor and GR200 once or twice.

All Connor does is assure him that everything is alright and giggle when the android calls his father “old man” and Hank has to bite his tongue not to swear.

It’s all very amusing to him, and once his dad is gone he continues telling the other random facts he picked up here and there. From the official “Put A Pillow In Your Fridge Day” (“It’s May 29 th and it’s a real thing!”) to a weirdly large amount of bee facts (“I just like them! They’re cute and they make honey! But mom says we can’t have a bee box because Niles is scared of them.”) and the ever so commonly known “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell” which makes Hank groan when he hears it, and GR200 listens intently to all of them until Connor suddenly gets quiet.

“What’s wrong?”

He looks up to him. “I’ve been babbling this whole time but I never asked you about you!” He exclaims. “Mom says that’s impolite.”

GR200 waves his hand around. “I’m an android, dude. There’s nothing to be said about me.”

“What do you do all day?” Connor asks with big eyes.

“I work. Or I’m in stasis.”

“Stasis?”

“Like sleep. But also not. Kind of like when you put your PC into standby mode.”

“Tell me about your work then! I want to be a Detective when I grow up!” He says it with so much pride in his voice that the other can’t help but smile.

“You sure? There’s lots of paperwork to be done,” he warns, mock-seriously.

Connor’s face in turn becomes serious too. “I know that already! Dad has told me about it, but I don’t care. I want to catch criminals and help people.”

“Mhm.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“Tell you what,” the android says. “I’ll tell you about my cases when you’re older. You’re still a bit too young for that.”

“I’m eight!”

“Yoooouuung.” He draws it out and Connor starts pouting again.

“But you do help the Officers catch bad guys, right?”

“I do,” Gavin grins. He leans over closer to Connor and adds: “And sometimes I even chase them.”

“Like the cops on TV?”

“Jesus, your parents let you watch that shit?”

“No, but sometimes when dad watches TV I can see a bit of them.”

“Thank fuck.”

“Do you think I can be as cool as you are when I grow up?”

GR200 is quiet for a bit, looking straight ahead. Did Connor offend him? Say something wrong? Then, the android ruffles his hair and when Connor turns to look at him, he can see his LED is blue for the first time. Connor’s mouth gapes open as he looks at the android.

“’m really not that cool,” GR200 mumbles, and Connor barely listens, instead reaching up to poke his temple.

“It’s blue!”

“It’s — what — why’s that so surprising?”

“Because it’s red all the time!”

“It’s fucking buggy, is what it is.”

“But now it’s blue.”

“It does that sometimes.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes and Connor can’t help but marvel at his little achievement. He makes a mental note to tell Niles all about it once he returns, but before he can continue talking to the android, Hank walks up to them. A quick glance to the clock reveals it to be past noon already, and Connor can’t believe he’s been talking to GR200 for this long now.

“C’mon, son,” Hank says, stretching out a hand to Connor. “I think it’s time to go home.”

“But we haven’t even been here that long!”

“Hey, I only got a short day today and I’m not about to do overtime just so you can chat with some station equipment.” Hank shrugs and Connor opens his mouth, ready to disagree and defend his friend. GR200 is more than station equipment, he thinks, but he’s cut off by Hank.

“Nope, son, no “but”s. We’re going home.”

Connor’s shoulder slouch down and he frowns.

“Connor,” Hank warns and he can feel that his father is being serious this time.

“Okay,” he responds defeatedly, and turns around the GR200.

“Goodbye,” he says quietly. The android ruffles his hair again and Connor can feel a faint smile making its way back onto his face.

“Bye, Connor. Don’t worry, your old man won’t be able to boss you around forever.”

“Sure?”

“Sure.”

“I think that’s enough,” Hank grumbles. “GR200, please enter stasis. And I’m really not that old,” he adds.

Connor can’t help but giggle, and he smiles when he waves at Gavin one last time, still elated over seeing the android’s LED a nice, blue color before it turns gray.

He really hopes this means the android considers him a friend too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw, there's ART FOR THIS ONE. Go check it out [here](https://deep-in-mind67.tumblr.com/post/184866869295/hey-so-remeber-my-reverse-au-how-i-have-connor)!  
> It's absolutely amazing and i love it.  
> Also, a fun fact: I have a whole word document full of random facts because of this chapter. I love collecting them as much as Connor does.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh. Hi? Yeah. Nothing really to say, sorry for the wait, I'm a bit rusty with writing, BUT I finally managed to finish this chapter. Hope you'll enjoy? Huge thanks to sheepishwolfy for helping me edit this, you're a saint. Go check out their work, it's great!

**October 10** **th** **, 2032**

 

It doesn’t take long for summer to start turning to fall — only about two months after Connor’s 8 th birthday the leaves begin to turn all kinds of different colors, red and yellow and orange and brown, falling to the ground and covering the streets.

And it’s not just fall that’s coming, Halloween is right around the corner. People are slowly beginning to put up various decorations, skeletons and ghosts and pumpkins. There’s a big one, carved by clumsy children’s hands in front of the Anderson residence as well, a cheery grin on its orange face, ghosts and bats made of paper taped to the door, a wraith made from thin branches and colorful leaves adorning the door.

Maybe it’s the Halloween spirit that has put Hank in a good mood, maybe it’s just that he’s tired of Connor’s non-stop begging and asking, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter when Connor is sitting in the passenger seat of his father’s car, his brothers still fast asleep, like they should be on a Saturday morning. 

Connor has always been the early riser out of him and Niles, and Cole, well, Cole is still so small that he just sleeps whenever he wants and not really to set times.

Next to him, Hank grumbles about the traffic and bad drivers and turns the radio up, heavy metal blasting through the car. Connor’s not sure whether he likes it, but he bites his tongue instead of saying something; he knows his dad wouldn’t be too happy if he started complaining about his taste in music, and he really doesn’t want to spoil this. After all, it had taken him almost two months to get Hank to take him to the police station again.

It’s slowly but surely becoming a routine: When they get there Connor jumps out of the car excitedly, Hank reminds him not to cause any mischief and to stay where Hank can see him, Connor listens with only half an ear before running off, Hank shaking his head and trailing behind him. He eagerly greets the nice receptionist before rushing inside, looking for his friend.

It takes him a few moments before he spots him, LED red and arms waving frantically as he talks to another android about something. Connor almost rushes over to him, but Hank grips his shoulder and tells him to wait.

The next few minutes feel excruciatingly long and he can see the GR200 getting more agitated by the second before he shakes his head and exits the conversation. Connor takes this as his cue to go and say hello to the android, jumping off the desk he had been sitting on and rushing over to the charging pods, reaching them at the same time as the android who had either pretended not to see him, which Connor hopes wasn’t the case, or had been too distracted by the previous argument to notice.

“What was that?” He asks, unable to contain his curiosity.

GR200 whips his head around and his LED spins a couple of times, before he exasperatedly shakes his head. “Hello to you too, Connor.”

Oh. Right. Manners. “Hello!” he responds, feeling his cheeks getting warm. “So?”

“That,” the android turns his head ever so slightly and points towards the other android, one with the appearance of a young woman with Asian heritage and dark brown hair worn in a ponytail, “is Tina. We’ve been working a case together and ya know, she fucked up.”

Connor’s eyes get big. “Did she?”

“Yeah,” Gavin nods. “Or if you’d ask her, she’d say I fucked up, which isn’t fucking true.”

“What’s the case about?” Connor asks, eyes big, as he slowly sits down next to the charging pod. He’s not about to stand for the whole conversation, thank you very much. His, unfortunately, still, short legs tire easily.

The GR200 is quiet for a second before dropping down next to him with an exasperated sigh. “Why the hell should I tell you?”

“Because you’re nice?” Connor tries, suddenly uncertain. Had he been wrong in asking the android about the case? He was just curious, but maybe it was impolite and he just didn’t know? What if he would make fun of him for not knowing it was impolite? what if— 

His thoughts are interrupted by the android letting out a loud laugh, startling Connor. “Well, that’s a new one,” he grins. 

“I’m sorry,” Connor replies quietly, unable to look him in the eyes.

The android’s grin falters. “What the — no need to apologize, Con.” He looks around the precinct for a few seconds before the grin returns. “So, about that case — what do you wanna know?”

“Everything!” Connor answers, suddenly full of excitement again. “Was it a murder? A fight in the streets? A —” 

The GR200 shakes his head. “Nothing that exciting, I’m afraid. Just a normal robbery.” He shrugs, but to Connor it’s still the most exciting thing ever. Hank normally doesn’t tell him about his cases.

“What happened?”

“Well, someone broke into this old lady’s house, damaged an android. Tina says it was her son-in-law, who’s, y’know, a son of a bitch.” He’s hanging on the android’s every word. 

“And, was it him?”

The other dismisses the question with a wave of his hand. “Too obvious, I keep telling Tina. Even though she fucking insists. I say it was the neighbor. Real nice guy, if ya get what I mean. Too nice. And because I told the investigating officer that I don’t think it was the son-in-law, and the officer knows I’m fucking right, Tina thinks I screwed up.” He concludes. 

“That’s stupid.”

“I know right? I’m obviously right —”

“Shouldn’t you two work together and not fight?”

“What?” The android seems perplexed.

“Whenever Niles and I fight about who’s right about something, he says instead of fighting we should work together.”

“That might work for school projects and shit, but —”

“You should try it, though!” Connor looks at him all serious, and he can see GR200’s LED blink yellow for a moment. “It helps a lot.”

“You know what, little man,” the android responds after a few moments of contemplation, “Maybe I will. If she just wasn’t such a prick about this.”

“You’re pretty rude too,” Connor points out, smiling, and the android can’t help but grin again. “Yup, that’s true.”

“So, do you have any other cases right now?”

“You want to hear about another one? Will I get another lecture on teamwork?” 

Connor giggles. “Only if you need it!”

“Alright let’s see… There’s the William’s case…”

He recounts two more cases, another breaking and entering, where nothing had been stolen but a cat had been dyed green, which Connor finds delightfully hilarious, and one about stolen cars. It’s exciting for Connor to listen to, despite the fact that he suspects that these are some of the less exciting cases the GR200 has. There had to be even cooler ones, he’s sure, and he doesn’t know why the android doesn’t tell him about them. He’s already eight after all, very much old enough to hear about them, or so he thinks.

“Gavin, do androids sleep?” he asks at some point, and the question seems to catch gavin off-guard.

“We, hm.” He goes quiet for a moment, averts his eyes. “We gotta charge, but I wouldn’t call it sleep. You guys dream and shit, yeah? We don’t do that.”

“So you never have nightmares? Or nice dreams?”

“Nope, never.”

“Do you fall asleep as soon as you want to?”

“Yep. It’s like pressing the stand-by button on a TV.”

“I wish I could do that! I always take so long,” Connor whines, and GR200 ruffles his hair. 

“Sucks to be you, I guess.”

“Hey!”

The android laughs. “I’m sorry. But yeah, ‘s pretty much immediately for us.”

“Not fair.”

“Life’s not fair.”

“Dad always says that when Niles grabs the last piece of candy.”

“Your dad’s right, y’know, even if he’s a prick.”

“You think my dad’s a prick?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I think everyone is a prick.”

“That’s not nice.”

“Didn’t we establish earlier that i’m not nice?” He grins smugly and Connor frowns. To him, the android was pretty nice, even if he had joked about not being the nicest earlier.

“You’re nice to me.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“You’re too young to be a prick yet.”

“Hmpf.” Connor crosses his arms and glares at the GR200. 

“That’s not a bad thing, you know?”

“But it’s boring! I want to be grown up and be strong and cool!”

There’s a hand ruffling through his hair again.

“If you say so. I wouldn’t know what that’s like,” GR200 shrugs.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Do androids have birthdays? Because you know, mine was two months ago and it was awesome! Even though I have to share it with Niles.”

“We’re not really ‘born’, y’know?” Right.

“You should have one!” He thinks for a moment. “There was a day when you were finished, right?”

The GR200 hesitates for a moment, before he nods.

“Technically, yes.”

“When was yours?” Connor asks, suddenly beaming with energy again. Maybe he could prepare something nice for the android’s birthday — finishing day? for the android’s something day. Maybe he could organize a surprise party or give him a gift or —

“It’s October 7th. Happy now?” Connor’s smile falls. Three days ago. He has missed the android’s birthday by three days and now would have to wait another year to celebrate the android’s birthday.

“Oh.”

“You good?”

“I just wanted to give you something! And I didn’t know it was three days ago and now I don’t have anything!” He feels like he’s close to tears, even though he knows it’s ridiculous.

“It’s all good, Con, I don’t need shit for that. Remember, it’s not technically a birthday.”

“But —” He begins, when he remembers something. “Hold on a minute!” Connor exclaims before standing up and rushing to Hank’s desk, where he had left his jacket. His father eyes him with a suspicious glance, but Connor doesn’t care. Instead, he fishes something out of the pocket of his favorite jacket before running back to the GR200.

“Here!”

“Huh?”

Like this, with the android seated on the floor and Connor standing, he’s just a bit taller than the other. He extends a fist to him, his small fingers curled around an object.

“What’s that?”

Connor opens his fist, revealing a small, colorful pebble. “I found it in the park a few months ago! It’s my lucky charm! And I want you to have it for your birthday!”

Gavin smiles, but his LED goes yellow and Connor’s own smile falters.

“That’s nice, buddy, but that’s yours and I really don’t need it.”

“But I want you to have it! It’ll be luck, so you catch whoever broke into that apartment!”

“I’ll catch the bastard without luck.”

“But faster with it. Please?” He tries to use his best puppy eyes, the ones that usually work so well on his dad. They seem to be effective on the android, too, when he closes his eyes, sighs and then carefully takes the pebble from Connor.

“Fine. Thank you, I guess.” The android rubs the back of his neck, but he’s smiling, and Connor can’t help but grin.

When he and the GR200 sit down again he can’t help but feel proud, and happy that the android accepted his little gift, and the feeling stays with him until Hank calls him to leave.

He only exits after two minutes of good-byes and promises to be back, and Hank has to practically drag him out. The weight of the pebble is missing in his jacket, but he knows it’s in good hands.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and Comments are my lifeblood, so if you enjoyed this, please consider leaving me one! Or feel free to talk to me on tumblr [@berry--blonde](https://berry--blonde.tumblr.com)!


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